Watch live: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches European Space Agency environmental research satellite

Watch live coverage as SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket with the European Space Agency's EarthCARE satellite. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, at 3:20 p.m. PDT (6:20 p.m. EDT, 2220 UTC). The first-stage booster, making its seventh flight, will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg a little over eight minutes into the flight.

The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) has four instruments which will study clouds and aerosols around the Earth “to improve the accuracy of climate models and support numerical weather prediction.”

Our live coverage with commentary from Will Robinson-Smith will begin about 30 minutes before launch.

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[mmnasmds]

Thank you Earth Care! Thank you Space X! I love you all!🎉❤🎉❤

[hunterchapman]

I’m at Vandenberg Air Force Base and the sonic boom of that re entry device was insane as well as the propulsion from the initial rocket. We saw it about 4 miles out too.

[kathyabel]

Great launch and landing of the booster.🎉

[jenhenwinters]

Great videos and a great inventions. We need More.

[RobertoAfortunado]

Just a little bit better than little rocket man's fireworks show last night.

[johnbridgman]

I always end up torn between "it's all CGI fake, nothing can be so reliable" and "then at last the mighty ship descending on a point of flame makes contact with the human race at Mildenhall".

I grew up on this stuff as a young adult in the 60's and it's great to see it really happening.

[buckburton]

I still watch the old Space Shuttle videos, the camera work was much better back then, I wonder why.

[hoquality]

I missed it. Did anyone see this in Southern California sky today? I forgot to look.

[danielstanton]

You know Space-x has made it when the guy doing the countdown sounds bored

[natachatrier]

When is it landing back on Earth?

I saw at 01:35 Danish time, at night. Something strange light come flying across the sky, but very far down. Seen from Denmark

[johnR-cthu]

Will there be space stations with asteroid deflection, mining, and travel capabilities ?

[Michael-mogk]

Will what is found in the pictures of Haley's Comet be a significant blow to your operations?

[dlcdlc]

Maybe they can tow the star scrubber into some kind of orbit so it can lose orbit and burn up on re entry.

[TheyRiseBand]

16:12 "Now you're taking a look at a live view of the rocket at the pad"
*cuts to girl*
"Yes, yes I am..."

[Julian-hxyp]

Nice late notification caused me to miss the whole broadcast

[dragonballz]

what was that thing at 34:04 on the left screen to the left of that feet? cos all the main things already fell a while was that white dot?

[NormanJohn]

The propellant is oxygen and hydrogen when burned it creates water not co2 it is h2O lol😮

[bobharrison]

The second stage engine looks like a new version

[itojbyx]

Another escape from this gravity well .😅

[paulbork]

This non-vacuum belled Merlin engine might also allow SpaceX to ditch a “more difficult” to maintain “atmospheric” optimized merkin engine, as “someone needs to go.”